Mining Intelligence and News
Namibia

Skorpion Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusCare and Maintenance
Commodities
  • Zinc
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotSkorpion Zinc has been under Care and Maintenance since start of May 2020, following cessation of mining activities due to geotechnical instabilities in the open pit. Activities to restart the mine are still in progress.

Skorpion Refinery conversion – awaiting confirmation of power tariff to take the final decision before beginning on-ground execution in FY 2024.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Vedanta Resources plc. 69.7 % Indirect

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary
  • Volcanic hosted

Summary:

The mineral chemistry, ore textures and styles of mineralisation are discussed for each ore mineral. Both, the mixed sediment-/volcanic-hosted non sulphide ore body and the remnants of volcanic-hosted sulphide mineralisation are known from abundant drill core and recently exposed non-sulphide mineralisation in the open pit. Remnants of a primary sulphide mineralisation are mainly preserved in the felsic metavolcanic rocks and their hyaloclastic eqivalents, which structurally underlie the central portion of the supergene ore body at depth.

The felsic metavolcanic rocks are also exposed some hundreds meters west of the Skorpion open pit, displaying disseminated pyrite mineralisation or forming gossans. The most famous gossan, which is located west of the Skorpion ore body, is the so called 'discovery outcrop'.

Within the footwall of the Skorpion non-sulphide zinc ore body disseminated to semi-massive primary pyrite sphalerite mineralisation has been intersected at a depth of 250 m and 300 m, respectively, which features a 25-m-wide zone grading 0.6 % Zn and 0.35 % Cu.

For completeness it has to be mentioned that some minor primary sulphides have been found in metasiliciclastic rocks but also in marble in the northern extension of the Skorpion ore body about 1.5 km north of the Skorpion open pit, e.g. borehole SD104, at a depth between 550 m and 700 m in unaltered fresh equivalents of the Skorpion metasiliciclastic host rocks and marble, respectively.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

Skorpion produced 0.6 kt in April 2020 before moving into Care and Maintenance
for the rest of the year.
CommodityUnits2021202020192018201720162015
Zinc M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe146186188181225

Operational metrics

Metrics202020192018201720162015
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe1,009,243 t537,066 t1,206,176 t1,241,327 t1,344,272 t
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe150,000 t of zinc metal150,000 t of zinc metal150,000 t of zinc metal

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2020201920182017
Cash costs Zinc USD  ....  Subscribe 0.11 / lb   0.85 / lb   0.75 / lb  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Aerial view:

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